Probation

Johanna Rasmussen has been advocating for youth and families in San Mateo County for over thirty years. Her advocacy work in the San Mateo County Juvenile Justice System began when her own daughter entered the system at the age of 13.
Johanna has worked both locally and on the state level to increase funding for community based mental health, substance abuse, and dual diagnosis programs and services for youth and adults. In addition to her criminal justice reform work, Johanna advocates for underserved community members and families on issues relating to housing, special education, disability and employment, and seeks to increase equity and improve transparency at all government levels. Johanna is Chairwoman of the Farm Hill Neighborhood Association in Redwood City and Coordinates the Confirmation Program at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish.

Karin Huber-Levy’s background is in corporate law, with experience working in both in-house and private practice, including acting as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary to a major pharmaceutical corporation. She has lived and worked in Canada, the UK, US, and Germany, and has a deep respect and affinity for working with diverse groups and cultures. As a volunteer, she has focused on working with students and is committed to supporting access to education and development opportunities for all youth. As a Commissioner, Karin is committed to advocating for alternatives to youth incarceration and equitable access to diversion programs. Currently, she is working on supporting access to after school and extended learning programs in underserved areas of SMC.

Ruchi Mangtani is a student at Menlo School. She is the founder of JusticeBound, a non-profit that seeks to increase youth involvement in prison and juvenile justice reform. JusticeBound has sent 800+ books to prisons across the United States and has a book exchange program with the Santa Clara City Library Foundation and Friends. JusticeBound is additionally partnered with Red Cross Norway, which Ruchi visited on a grant funded by the HAND Foundation. Her experiences visiting Norwegian prisons and speaking to individuals involved in their criminal justice system inform her work on JJDPC. 

Ruchi is also an avid writer; her writing has been recognized by The Stanford Daily, the LA Times HS Insider, the Mercury News, the Library of Congress, and others. Her essay about strip and body cavity searching in United States prisons was awarded a Gold Key by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. She writes and researches policies for Congresswoman Anna Eshoo as well as a member of her Student Advisory Board. Ruchi hopes to use these skills to give every young person the resources and support they require to achieve their desired life. 

Jennifer Blanco, a first-generation individual of Cuban and Salvadorian descent, has dedicated nearly three decades to serving the San Bruno community. As a Trustee of the San Bruno Park Elementary School District for 17 years, Jennifer has had a lasting impact on children and families. Jennifer was instrumental in bringing the national Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros annual celebration to San Bruno back in 2009, emphasizing the importance of literacy for children from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Jennifer’s unwavering dedication to providing essential support to all students has earned her the title of an equity warrior.

Paul Bocanegra is the cofounder of Reevolution Group, a human rights watch officer for the Children's Division of Human Rights Watch, and a certified drug and alcohol counselor. Paul was sentenced to life without parole when he was 16 years old and served more than 25 years in adult prison. He describes himself as a survivor of Juvenile LWOP and the California prison system. Today Paul works to reform the juvenile criminal justice system by sharing his experiences and struggles within the juvenile and adult systems and institutions.

Whitney Genevro is a native of San Mateo County and resides in the Belle Haven neighborhood of Menlo Park. She graduated with a BA from California State University East Bay and a JD from Golden Gate University School of Law. Whitney currently works as a conflicts attorney for Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto. Prior to attending law school, she worked as a program manager and grant writer for Second Harvest of Silicon Valley for 10 years. A core value of Whitney’s is to be supportive of her community – she grew up with a strong volunteer ethic and became a youth leader at 17. She currently volunteers her time as a youth leader at her church, with Project WeHOPE, Bayshore Christian Ministries, is working on a community garden project at Aspire East Palo Alto Charter School and continues to support Second Harvest as a food sort volunteer. She is also a Law Program facilitator with Fresh Lifelines for Youth in Santa Clara County. Whitney has made it a priority to learn about the juvenile justice system; her goal is to bring more attention to the needs of the system and be a part of positive changes for youth in our county. She has already begun her work as a volunteer with the JJDPC, joining a project team to understand what restorative justice practices are in place in high schools in San Mateo County.

Steve Grieb moved to San Mateo in March of 2023, from Johnson County, KS,  Steve worked from 2007 to 2020 as General Counsel to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Kansas, retiring in 2020.  He got his law degree from the University of Kansas (ROCK CHALK, JAY HAWK, GO K - U!!) in 2007.  Prior to going to law school starting in 2004, he worked in the mutual fund / financial services industry, first in Newark, NJ, then in Kansas City, MO (with a 2-year stint in Luxembourg from 1992-94).  While in college at Lehigh University (majoring in Government) in Bethlehem, PA, Steve spent a semester abroad in Germany at the University of Bonn (at the time, Bonn was the Capital of W. Germany) in 1969.  Steve was born in Philadelphia and grew up in South Jersey.  Steve, just before entering and while in law school, was a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer in Lawrence, KS, working with 2 pre-adoptive siblings in foster care.  He also worked for the Citizen Review Board there (responsible for assuring that juveniles in the court system and in foster care received all of the appropriate services to which they were entitled).

Eugene is a life long resident of East Palo Alto. He currently serves as Youth Delinquency and Re-entry Director for Live in Peace, a nonprofit organization in located in East Palo Alto, known for empowering youth and young adults to reclaim the vision for their future. Through his work Eugene builds relationships with at-risk youth, offering them a path away from violence and gangs and towards positive change and safer communities. In addition to his work with Live in Peace, Eugene serves on the East Palo Alto Police Chief’s Advisory Board and is a member of Operation Ceasefire.

Wesley Liu is a student at Pacific Bay Christian School in Pacifica. He currently volunteers with the Marin County Peer Court as a youth advocate. He also serves as a Youth Advisory Board member of the California Association of Youth Courts. Additionally, he serves as a youth leader at San Mateo County's peer court program (Peer Point). He is deeply passionate about juvenile justice. He will continue to advocate for restorative justice principles and work to prevent youth entry into the criminal justice system. He also interns for a congressional campaign. At school, he is the captain of the Speech and Debate Team among other roles. In his spare time, Wesley enjoys teaching Taekwondo.

Ameya Nori is a student at Menlo-Atherton High School. He serves as a San Mateo County Youth Commissioner and the Chair of the Restorative Justice Subcommittee. As a commissioner, he hopes to continue to advocate for community intervention programs that support youth development and divert them from the school-to-prison pipeline.

Sathvik Nori is a senior at Menlo-Atherton High School. He joined the JJDPC after witnessing the injustice present in school discipline that results in the school to prison pipeline. He is also the chair of the San Mateo County Youth Commission and Student Trustee for the Sequoia Union High School District. He is working on raising greater awareness of the problems facing youth offenders in the country.

Susan Swope retired as Deputy Director, International Information Integrity Institute at SRI Consulting.She is an active volunteer committed to social justice. She is a Lay Chaplain for the San Francisco Archdiocese, leading communion services at the Youth Services Center, and a mediator for the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center and the Superior Court’s Juvenile Offender Mediation Program. She served on the board and co-chaired the Restorative Justice Committee for the Society of St Vincent de Paul. Susan has also facilitated Alternatives to Violence Workshops for the incarcerated as well as the general community. She is committed to helping youth meet and overcome their challenges to lead successful, productive lives.